In order to manage the UK’s withdrawal with a degree of certainty, and once I had verified the guarantees regarding Gibraltar that Spain needed, in November of last year I and other heads of state and government endorsed the Withdrawal Agreement and approved the Political Declaration on the future relationship.

This agreement affords peace of mind and security for citizens who have made vital decisions based on the UK’s decades-long membership of the EU; it preserves their rights and guarantees that the UK will honor the financial commitments it acquired while it was a member of the EU.

It also includes a transition period to allow for a progressive adaptation to the new circumstances, and to advance in talks about the future relationship between the EU and the UK.

The agreement furthermore guarantees that the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland will remain invisible, thus preserving the peace and the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement. By the way, there are not many better examples than this one to clearly illustrate the key role played by Europe to heal wounds that had been festering for generations around forgotten borders – the kinds of borders that some are so anxious to raise once more.

The European Council and the European Commission also adopted a joint statement that, for the first time in history, recognized a determining role for Spain, including a veto right over the future relationship between Gibraltar and the European Union. These guarantees have been reinforced by including a clarification about the territorial scope of Article 184 of the Withdrawal Agreement in the new joint instrument. Thanks to this, we are in a privileged position to build a future of shared prosperity between neighboring Campo de Gibraltar and Gibraltar in the coming decades.